Football
Memories of Bitter Defeats Powerful Motivator in Rivalries
By John Porentas

There's nothing like winning a rivalry game. Nothing.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that for every winner, there is a loser, and being the loser in a rivalry game is really the pits.

Last year it was the Michigan Wolverines that visited the pit of defeat. They left Columbus on the short end of a 37-21 score. Troy Smith ran wild, rushing for 145 net yards and a touchdown and passing for 241 yards and two touchdowns. Ted Ginn ran wild with five receptions for 87 yards and four punt returns for 123 yards and one touchdown. The Buckeyes ran the Wolverines out of the stadium. You can bet the Wolverines haven't forgotten and want a piece of OSU this year. Take it to the bank.

Michigan will draw on that memory in Ann Arbor on Saturday, and it will make a difference. You can take to the bank as well, but the Buckeyes aren't exactly lacking in bitter memories to draw upon themselves.

The Buckeyes visited Ann Arbor in 2003 with aspirations of a repeat visit to he national championship game. With just one loss, they entered the game with a chance win an outright Big Ten championship and were high enough in the BCS rankings that a win against the Wolverines would have returned then to the national title game. That day in Ann Arbor, Chris Perry ran wild, gashing the OSU defense for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Braylon Edwards ran wild with seven receptions and two touchdowns. The Wolverines ran the Buckeyes out of stadium to the tune of 35-21, and it was OSU's turn for a trip to the pit of defeat. Like the Wolverines the Buckeyes haven't forgotten.

Nate Salley
Photo by Jim Davidson

"It was probably the worst feeling ever," said OSU senior safety Nate Salley.

"I remember when I was in high school we lost the state championship game in overtime. It kind of felt like that, very bad, especially knowing what we had on the line.

"We could have had our first outright Big Ten championship since 1984, we could have went to back-to-back national championships," said Salley.

The loss was bad enough, but the scene after the game and the ride back to Columbus on the bus made the day all the worse, and all the more memorable, for Salley.

"That was a hard feeling, seeing their fans out there going crazy and and celebrating while we were down in the dumps and feeling horrible. That wasn't a great feeling at all.

Rob Sims
Photo by Jim Davidson

"I was real banged up after the game too, then we had a five hour dive home too. That wasn't fun at all, so we definitely don't want that to happen again," Salley said.

The Wolverines will not have a corner on the market when it comes to bitter memories on Saturday, and OSU senior offensive lineman Rob Sims says his team will draw on the memory of 2003, just like the Wolverines will draw on 2004.

"It was a terrible feeling. We went out there and felt like we were the better team and they proved they were better on that day," said Sims.

"We can't let that happen again."

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